A lot of you are going to gasp, but yes, my game of the year is not Sonic 4:Episode II or Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed. Heck, it's not even a Sonic game at all! It is, in fact........

A lot of you may not know this, but I'm fairly new to the Kingdom Hearts franchise. In fact, at the start of 2012, I had very little knowledge about the series at all. It wasn't until a friend showed me a little bit of gameplay from 358/2 Days that I became interested. In May, I bought the first Kingdom Hearts game for Playstation 2 and absolutely loved the game (It has the best story in the series IMO). However, it wasn't until June, when I bought Kingdom Hearts II, that I fell in love with the series. I've played a lot of games in my 15 years of gaming (heck, I've been gaming since the age of 3), but few have touched me on a level that the ending of Kingdom Hearts II did.

^MASSIVE SPOILERS^

Needless to say, after playing that game, I knew I had to play Kingdom Hearts 3D, so I pre-ordered it to ensure I would get a copy on release day. When it finally arrived, I could hardly put it down and, for the first time, I was actually taking the 3DS with me everywhere I went.

Your existence has been validated!

To say I enjoyed Kingdom Hearts 3D is a bit of an understatement. I was partially obsessed with this game for a while. Whenever I had some free time, I would run right back to this game, even if it was just to watch the intro or listen to a little of the music in the game. I literally couldn't get enough of it.

Just one of many awesome tracks!

The gameplay, particularly the flo-motion mechanics, really kept me entertained as well. The freedom of movement during combat is awesome. Rarely do you ever feel restricted as to where you can go, which also makes exploration more enjoyable than ever before. Did I mention it adds a heck of a lot more speed to the traditional Kingdom Hearts gameplay? (Yeah, major factor there... >_>)

Also, I really liked the story, especially Riku's portion of the tale. Sure, the Kingdom Hearts saga is far more convoluted than it should be at this point, but this game does enough to set itself apart. Plus, it has flashbacks and story logs to help clear up at least some of the confusion.

Yep, even though Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed came close, this game managed to pull a win for my game of the year. It's not my favorite Kingdom Hearts game (that spot is reserved for Kingdom Hearts II), but it's certainly high on the list.

I was thinking about this the other day. The thing that almost always gets me in the mood for the holiday season has got to be the music. Sure, you get so tired of it by the end of December, but it's great while it lasts.

My favorite Christmas melody has got to be this tune by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It never ceases to put me in the mood for the holidays.

I just go bonkers whenever that plays on the radio this time of year.

So how about you? Is there a particular song that puts you in the mood for fruit cake and presents? Sound off in the comments below!